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Among the Autograph Hounds at BEAhttp://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/06/07/among-the-autograph-hounds-at-bea/
http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/06/07/among-the-autograph-hounds-at-bea/#respondThu, 07 Jun 2012 21:00:04 +0000http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/06/07/among-the-autograph-hounds-at-bea/Thursday, the last day of BookExpo America, the publishing industry’s annual convention, is a relatively light day for author appearances, but the autograph area this morning still looked like a LaGuardia departure lounge during a blizzard. More than half of those in the long, snaking line to meet Kristin Cashore, the author of “Bitterblue,” were seated on the floor, biding their time.

Nearly 30 tables are set up in the back of the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center, and authors are shuttled through them in 30- and 60-minute increments. On Tuesday, the first day of the convention, there were 182 authors listed to appear. And many of the booksellers, bloggers, librarians and other fans who collect signatures at BookExpo take advantage of the traffic.

Kallie Mathews, who blogs at Bookshelf Banter, had collected about 50 books during the week, which she planned to ship home to Grand Prairie, Tex., outside of Dallas.

The blogger Kelsey Dirom and her mother, Hazel, offered a more old-fashioned, if taxing plan to get their loot home: they will pack up nearly 200 books and bring them on their flight back to the UK. Hazel said they tested the system, discovering that three stuffed suitcases should do the trick. And though each of those suitcases will weigh about twice the allowable limit, “no one ever weighs the hand luggage,” Hazel said with confidence.

Kristan Heverin, who started her blog Lost Amongst the Shelves less than a year ago, was at BEA for the first time. “This is our Christmas right here,” she said. And like eager kids on Christmas morning, Ms. Heverin has been getting up early, taking a 5:45 train from Connecticut each day to line up for when Javits opens its doors at 9. She estimated her haul at 80 books, which have been brought back home in a suitcase each night. “Ones that I won’t be able to read, I donate or give away to people who will read them,” she said.

Many of those in line on Thursday morning were enthusiastic 20-something bloggers. Andrea Levine and Molly Jackson, co-editors-in-chief of the site Insert Geek Here, tempered their enthusiasm with business goals. They were waiting to meet Chip Kidd, who was signing “Batman: Death by Design,” his new graphic novel with the artist Dave Taylor.

“It’s not so much about meeting [Mr. Kidd],” Ms. Jackson said. “It’s about meeting the people who are with him, from DC Comics. Authors are easy to access, compared to people behind the scenes.”